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Mar. 4, 2004 |
Knicks-Sixers editorial-style game notes
By InsideHoops.com
Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks hosted the Philadelphia 76ers. Behind 36 points and 10 assists from Stephon marbury, the Knicks won by a score of 88-77. Below are raw, totally unedited game notes.
PHILLY'S PREVIOUS GAME
Before visiting New York, Philly played in Indiana. Minus the service of Allen Iverson and Glenn Robinson, the Pacers handled the Sixers, winning 81-74. In the third quarter, Philly shot just 3-of-17 from the field. Starters Kenny Thomas and Samuel Dalembert and bench players Willie Green and Kyle Korver carried Philly, but they were overmatched by the East-leading Pacers.
RANDOM SIXERS NOTES (PRIOR TO THIS GAME)
Allen Iverson had three games with five or more steals this season.
The Sixers are 19-7 when holding their opponent to 86 points or less.
They have a 4-26 record when the opposition scores 90 points or more.
Philly has been horribly injured this season. Only Samuel Dalembert and Eric Snow have played in every game so far.
When leading with five minutes to go in the game, the Sixers are 21-2.
When losing with five minutes to go in the game, the Sixers are 2-32.
Allen Iverson has led the team in scoring 33 times. Glenn Robinson has done it 12 times. Next is Aaron McKie, who has done it five times.
Kyle Korver's three-point shooting has been up and down. Overall, he's shooting great: 41.6% from three-point range. But check this out: In the first 23 games, from three-point range he shot 23.8%. From games 24 to 43, it was 53.7%. In games 44-57 it was just 11.8%. And from games 58-60 the percentage is 46.2%. Someone should check his eating habits during all those stretches and figure out some sort of formula.
Kenny Thomas is having the best year of his career. He's had 27 games with 10 or more rebounds and is 10th in the league with 9.9 boards per game.
Marc Jackson has missed 41 games this season. Aaron McKie missed seven. Glenn Robinson missed 17. Kenny Thomas missed eight. Greg Buckner missed 14. Derrick Coleman missed 29. Willis Green missed 24. Allen Iverson missed 18. And some of these guys are still injured. Time to get a new team trainer or something.
TONIGHT IN NEW YORK - THE GAME
Allen Iverson is playing terrific defense. He's sticking to his man so tightly that when Knicks players try to set a pick, they're often still while Iverson bumps into them, resulting in fouls against New York.
New York is handling the game in the first half. With six minutes left in the second quarter, it's New York up 40-26.
The Sixers are drawing lots of fouls on Knicks big men. Kurt Thomas and Nazr Mohammed both had three fouls with plenty of time left in the second quarter. The Knicks were forced to put in Cezari Tryzanski. I'm intentionally spelling his name wrong because he has not yet earned my respect as a player.
Fine, I'll spell it correctly. His name is Cezary Trybanski. He's 7-2 and 240 pounds, was born in 1979 and hails from Poland.
New York is barely getting to the free throw line.
With under one minute left in the first half, Iverson is shooting 2-of-11. I think I could shoot that same percentage. Iverson gets to the line a bit more than I would, however.
Halftime: Knicks 49 Sixers 47.
The Knicks shot 50 percent in the first half. Stephon Marbury had 15 points, leading New York.
Stephon Marbury has had some rough shooting performances lately. It's very nice of Philly to be on the schedule.
The Knicks are banging Iverson around like crazy. I'm starting to feel sorry for him. He comes into this game with a bruised right shoulder, and by the end of it everything will be bruised other than his jewelry and headband.
Samuel Dalembert can jump 80 feet in the air.
At the end of three it's Knicks 66 Sixers 54.
Allen Iverson leads the entire league in minutes per game. Second is Stephon Marbury.
If Ashton Kutcher was an NBA player, he'd be Kyle Korver.
Nazr Mohammed has some skills.
A minute and a half into the fourth quarter Korver hit two three-pointers in a row, bringing the Sixers to within eight.
When Aaron McKie shoots a three it looks like he's hurling a bowling ball at a 15-foot rim.
Dalembert's high sock (left leg) is taller than Willie Green.
Just as I mention Green, he steals it and soars in for a two-handed dunk. Still very early in the fourth quarter, the Knicks lead is down to five.
Practice! Man, we're talking about practice! (Or however the exact quote goes.)
With six minutes left in the game, Tim Thomas threw down his best dunk as a Knick. It was on the break, with a dish from Marbury. He drew a foul on the dunk as well. A flying, soaring one-hander. The best part of the play was Marbury doing is patented "That's disgusting!" look after the dunk. New York is up by 11.
Iverson is now shooting 2-of-19. That's awesome. Lucky fans chosen at random could probably shoot 1-of-19.
I love Iverson. I'm not dissing him. But today, his shooting is a horrible mess. But then again, most of his teammates are afraid to shoot. Eric Snow has given up countless open shots from outside and simply tossed it back to Iverson.
With 4:11 left it's Knicks up 82-69.
The clock didn't move for about 20 seconds. This matchup will have about 48 minutes and 20 seconds of game time.
Glenn Robinson finally drew a foul and got to the line, with four minutes left in the game.
Stephon Marbury, as Walt Clyde said, has been the man.
If Dalembert wore two high socks instead of one, do you think it would balance out his shot? Maybe he's lopsided.
With three and a half minutes left in the game, Marbury has 13 points in the fourth quarter and 34 for the game. He's rather good.
Iverson missed his final 18 shots, finishing 2-for-21.
Final score: Knicks 88 Sixers 77.
MORE NOTES
The Knicks break their six-game rebounding streak with this win.
Stephon Marbury finished with 36 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, on 13-of-24 shooting.
This was Iverson's worst shooting game of his NBA career.
Nazr Mohammed, now the Knicks starting center, came up with 12 points and 15 rebounds, six on the offensive end of the floor. Fantasy league players, you may want to consider grabbing him. Not today, necessarily, but see how he does next game and make your decision. Unless you have an open roster spot, in which case grab him right now.
The Knicks are now 27-35, 17-15 at home.
Stephon Marbury has led the Knicks in assists every single game he's been on the team.
The Knicks grabbed a season-high 16 offensive rebounds. That's why I recommend you wait on signing Nazr Mohammed to your fantasy league team (again, unless you have an available spot right now, or have a horrible player you already meant to cut).
Lenny Wilkens is now 11-11 as coach of the Knicks.
Of the Knicks 32 home games, 17 have been sellouts.
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